Saturday, June 13, 2015

Maine~Be Still My Heart~long..

It had been years..too many years..since we had been to Maine..early June suits us.. less crowds..quieter..
our style~
The drive is quite lovely..through Vermont..New Hampshire..and then the destination ..Maine.
In Vermont..we stopped at a rest area on the way and on the way back..Randolph and Williston.
We don't know if every Vermont rest area has this..but the two we went into..had complimentary Vermont Coffee..coffee..if you are not familiar with it..it's delish.I favor the Hazelnut and they had some..as I was about to fill my cup..I noticed a Donations box..I looked to the tall gentleman waiting beside me and I said..:"my purse is in the car"..he said:"Let me do that"..he took extra dollars out of his wallet and paid. He told me his wife would want some too.How nice.. he was from Brattleboro Vermont and Naples Florida.
It just starts a trip across the border in a beautiful ,friendly way.

but most of all..I love the quiet areas..when on our own..I can look out and only see..boats:)
or lighthouses..or artists..or cliffs and waves and beach roses.

Stonewall Kitchen.. we had coffee there one morning before setting out..is quite the enterprise..there is the Home Office..Kitchens..Cooking School..and store..the grounds are pristine..the gardens so beautiful..outdoor seating areas..first class operation IMHO.
That was the extent of our shopping until Trader Joe's on our return and The Christmas Tree Shop...in Vermont.
I prefer to see nature than to shop malls when we go to the sea for such a short time.
I brought some paints..my little travel journal..my point and shoot camera.. (thanks again A)..

I call this one ..lighthouse falling into the sea;)I sketched it in the car in about 30 seconds..in the evening I painted it in..Only once I finished did I notice the leaning..:)
Our weather was half and half..the last day we were there for the full day..it was full sun..everything looks so different.
But both full days had their own beauty.
When we take car trips..Fl or Maine of QC or Massachusetts ..we pack a snack..either sandwiches..or muffins.. water etc..for this little trip..we had watched an old epi of A La Di Stasio and I was taken by some muffins and their topping..I deviated totally from the muffin recipe..but stuck to the topping.Do try this topping;)

La Recette~Based on the above link but totally different;)This made 9 as I halved the recipe.
1 cup blueberries

So the original recipe calls for squash and prunes..I omitted and put the blueberries.
They are really good..I am keepin the topping in my head for many other muffin recipes..

PS..
This is quintessentially Vermont charm..outside the rest areas..very cute gardens.. their rain barrel..I mean look how cute..took a pic..
I used to love doing folk art on old tins..metal containers..I have so many paints left..who knows?

Love it..

Mini Ipad Photo.Comes in HANDY!

AAACCCKKKKKK..I returned to a rose chafer INFESTATION..I have dealt with them for a few years now..but picked them off..4 days away..Colonies..all stuck to my Irises ..roses..shastas..the huge majority of them in my front side bed:(No clue how to get rid of them..I just sprayed w/ lavender oil and baking soda.Hope I don't kill the plants..although they are all so damaged:(Any ideas?I am relentlessly squihing them even in mid-air since home.
It really is a bad time to leave..June..everyday the garden needs me.
More than once a day.
System restore is done..hours..in the garden.Apparently it poured while we were away..

My outfits revolved around a baseball hat and a straw hat;)It was windy!But BEAUTIFUL..the coast is beautiful Chris!See that last house.?.♥It reminded me of the Maryland home Ann Archer and Harrison Ford lived in in Patriot Games..

Oh, you've touched another soft spot of my heart. Adore the coastline of Maine and the quaint villages along Rt. 1. I could definitely summer there! Your get away sounds ideal. We considered driving up from TX to spend some time in Maine. I wish we would. Long drive for us though. The times we gone we've flown to Boston, then driven from there. With Sadie in our lives now, it would be better to drive.Love your shot of the muffin tin, the way you left some empty and included text. Monique, always the artist! '-)

I know it would be a long trip for you..would it be like us driving to Fl?It is all just so quaint.We have a new highway here that makes getting there a little easier by-passing congested areas..Hope you get to go..saw a lot of doggies;)

What fun while in Maine, I love the pictures. I travel with a sketch book too :) I just wish I could water color like you :) I have not baked with blueberries this year yet, I don't know what I'm waiting for but now that I have a wonderful recipe to work from I have no excuse. I'm sorry to hear about your jardin :(

Oh Monique, you are plucking my heart strings this morning. Having lived adjacent to Maine for many years and having travelled quite often through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, you are talking about three of my most favourite places on earth. I have always said if I could live anywhere I wanted to, it would be one of those three spots. They hold a special place in my heart. I am going to take a cue from you and carry my sketch book with me. I have never done that. What a bad artist I am! My heart broke when you told me about the rose chafers. What an awful thing to come home to. I am hoping you can get a handle on them before too much damage is done. How very devastating. Praying for your garden from the bottom of my heart. It is such a beautiful spot and you use it to bless others with your beautiful photography. Sending extra extra love. xoxoxoPS - Those muffins. C'est tres magnifique!

You are a great artists and yes a travel book would be so nice..you can cut out words and things before going..and add them..journaling..plus all your doodles!It's a magica..place Maine..it just IS a holiday;)Thanks for your prayers for my gardens;)How thoughtful.Pray for an extinction of chafers..they are bad for birds and dogs..and me.

What a great trip! I have never been to Maine, I think we will add that to the bucket list for when Jerry retires. Those photos make one want to jump in the car and go. We get the Japanese beetles which seem similar to your rose chafers. I think going around with a jar of soapy water and knocking them into water also kills them. Maybe this company has some organic product to help http://www.gardensalive.com/category/insect-control. Very tasty muffins you made to have for your road trip.

You will do lots once Gerry retires;)I am bad Terry..I use my fingers and squish them to death.They are very bad for birds..dogs..and decimate plants in a heartbeat.Swarming this year:(I really enjoy that topping w/ the nuts..egg white and sugar..different..:)I looked at Christmas Tree shop for the small measuring cup..none to be seen..but I had bought it years ago!

Your so brave with squishing them. But I have gotten braver about killing stinky bugs which I think is in the beetle family. I use toilet paper and flush them because they really stink when killed. Wouldn't it be nice if our gardens did not get hit with these bugs and mold spores, etc?

What wonderful photos of your trip! I've never been to the east coast other than NYC, Florida and South Carolina. It must be a lovely place to visit. I had to smile at the leaning light house :) Still a wonderful painting and you took the time to do it! The topping on your travel muffins does look wonderful! What a great idea and I love nuts and seeds. Such a shame to return from a special trip to your garden being eaten alive. I read that your Rose Chafers and our Japanese Beetles are very similar. I walk the garden with a lidded jar with soapy water and I tap them in. The soapy water keeps them from flying out. I leave them in the jar to die and then refresh the next day. It's such a tedious job. Maye you need a bucket :) I squish them too but it gives me the shivers. I know you can't use any chemicals there but I've read about nematode spray for the larvae being effective but costly. Maybe there are services in your area? It seems if they are in your yard, they are likely in your neighbors also. Very difficult to control just like our Japanese Beetles. We see them all over the golf courses in summer. It is heartbreaking. As little as 10 years ago I had never heard of them here!

I had never seen them either before..5 yeras maybe?I still squished..today my thumbnail was full of them..there I said it..;)we had les boys today..you would have LOL'd..I filled the baby pool.. and they all wore Jacque's bathing suits..;)Imagine that.Made me forget about the chafers..temporarily.I am a beach lover..thank goodness Jacques is also..just to walk it and see it..and act like holidayers♥I have bucketsgalore..chemicalengineershavebuckets;)

What a pretty place! Everything I know about Maine I learned from an old TV show with Angela Lansbury and your photos look just as perfect. It must have been a loved trip. Pinned the muffin topping, I like crunch.Amaliaxo

i saw your nubble light photo and i went teary eyed. York is just my most favorite place and it's been 8 years since i've been there and i miss it so much, reading of your love of maine has just made me so happy :) and i just love your sketchbook too, so glad you had a nice time there. How many days were you there? Have you had the blueberry pie at the little clam place by the nubble light. I love the clam chowder and the blueberry pie.thanks so much for sharing this with us

I loved every moment Jenni..it was grey and drizzly the day we went there..still.. artists were there.it makes me so want to have a plein air set..one lady told me ..after I asked..that she did indeed make her plein air set up w/ a camera tripod..

they were brave souls..the wind was fierce..

We left Monday morn..and returned Thursday eve.

So we had 2 full days and covered a lot of ground.I ♥ that lighthouse.You know..I brought cut out words etc..for my journal..because of you.Truly.

The coast of Maine reminds of the coast of Oregon, it is rocky and beautiful. Looks like you had a wonderful time. Your muffins look delicious and perfect for traveling. Awful news about your garden, last summer we had a varment digging holes in the garden...... this year I've been fighting the slugs, always something.

I recognized the photos from Perkins Cove right away ;o) We just love Ogunquit, and we park the car when we arrive, and never touch it again until the day we leave. We walk everywhere, my kind of relaxing vacation.

Awful about your garden, especially after a nice getaway. The muffins sound amazing,

Oh, I want to travel there again! Our trips through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine...dreamy! Oh how your photographs tug at my heart! Thanks for sharing that awesome recipe, I always gain so much when I drop in! Your blog is truly one of my favorites! I think you need to use up that paint!!

Hi Monique!What a great little getaway...how lucky are you!Beautiful shots....with your wee point and shoot!I always pack a snack for our first day of a trip too....I also did folk painting! Loved it!Enjoy your week....Cheers!Linda :o)

I've never been in the United States but I think Maine is a great place, quiet and relaxing, like our Tuscany or Umbria, I would love, great pictures and wonderful blog ! Greetings from Trieste, Italy's northeast

Oh I wish I had known that you were in Maine, you were only 45 minutes away from where I live. My husband and I would have driven up and met the two of you for lunch in Perkins Cove…it would have been so nice to have gotten together.

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I missed this post! You were so close (well, relatively close) to my home! We were in Kennebunkport the weekend before you...Don't you love that Stonewall Kitchen? And Perkins Cove? And the Shore Walk and the beach? The southern Maine coast and its development is different than up here in Midcoast, and also different from Downeast...And Vermont, what a beautiful state. Yay for your sketchbook!